Wednesday, September 28, 2011

When to tell


Conventional wisdom says you shouldn't announce your pregnancy until you are in the 2nd trimester when it's "safe to tell". But, for women with factor v leiden, late losses are a lot more common than they are for the average woman (who's chance of loosing the pregnancy after a heartbeat is heard drops to about 5%). I've lost 2 babies after passing the 1st trimester, well after first hearing the heartbeat, and after it was supposedly "safe" to tell.

Pros of telling early:
-support if you have a loss
-support if your pregnancy progresses, but is difficult
-lets you more openly enjoy the pregnancy early

Pros of waiting:
-fewer people to "untell" if you have an early loss
-less likely you'll hear unsupportive comments after multiple losses

I tend to announce early, but understand when couples feel like the pregnancy is too fragile or tentative to shout from the rooftops.